The present invention relates generally to the field of steering wheels. More specifically, it relates to a system for sensing the presence of a driver's hands on the steering wheel.
Conventional steering wheels do not have the capability of detecting the drivers hand position during vehicle operation. In normal driving conditions both hands should be present on the steering wheel to be in full, safe control of the vehicle, following the “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, mind on the drive” safety mantra.
In recent times, the number of potential distractions for a driver has increased. With the advent of portable electronics (e.g., mobile phones, mp3 players, etc.), there are a number of electronic distractions that encourage or tempt drivers to take their hands of the steering wheel. For example, such portable electronics can require manually dialing or selecting a phone number in order to make a cell phone call, or manually texting messages and/or answering emails, or selecting which song to play on an attached MP3 player.
It would be desirable to provide a system for identifying the presence and/or location of a driver's hands on the steering wheel to allow for vehicle based warnings and inputs for other vehicle and steering wheel based systems.